november and thanksgiving playlists

November 2010 Playlist

(see corresponding posts on sidebar for links)

"True Affection" - The Blow

“Under my Thumb” – La Roux

“A Hazy Shade of Winter” – Simon and Garfunkel

“Hot Chocolate Boy” – Beat Happening

“Sleep Forever” – The Crocodiles

“Happy End” – Plankton

“November” – Vaiko Eplik Ja Eliit

“Brestir og Brak” - Björk

“Only This Moment” (chab remix) – Röyksopp

“Song with a Mission” – The Sounds

“Under My Skin” – Jukebox the Ghost

“Clangour and Flute” – Sin Fang Bous

“The Jeep Song” – The Dresden Dolls

“Obscurity Knocks” – The Trashcan Sinatras

“November” - The David Doruzka Quartet

“Hungry Like the Wolf” – Reel Big Fish

“Super Rad” - The Aquabats

“Plan A” – The Dandy Warhols

“All These Things That I’ve Done” – The Killers

“Soldier Blue” – The Cult

“Hungry Like the Wolf” – Duran Duran

“Liar” – Rollins Band

“Hey Man, Nice Shot” - Filter

“Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree” – Performed by The Andrews Sisters

“November Spawned a Monster” – Morrissey

“Weirdo” – The Charlatans U.K.

“Tommy the Cat” – Primus

“Fresh Pit” – Ex-Norwegian

“American Idiot” – Green Day

“I Want Candy” – Bow Wow Wow

“Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” – The White Stripes

Thanksgiving Playlist:

“Thank You” – Duran Duran

“Say My Thanks” – 7 Seconds

“Thanks for the Night” – The Damned

“I Thank You” – ZZ Top

“Thanksgiving” – Poi Dog Pondering

“Thanks for Not Showing Up” – The Cute Leppers

“Thank You” – The Pipettes

“Thank You for the Music” – ABBA

“Thank You for Hearing me” – Sinead O’Conner

“Thanks for the Memory” – Sarah Vaughan

“I Want to Thank You” – Otis Redding

"i was out of your league"

It's a K records week. I am feeling a little bit of Heimweh this week for the PNW. Between the holiday and the fact that Mr. IMo? took off on a snowboarding trip yesterday probably both contribute. And when I need a PNW fix I always head to K records.

Today's song comes from Portland, Oregon's The Blow. My favorite part of the song is the use of double meanings in the lyrics. So clever.

SONG OF THE DAY: "True Affection" - The Blow

spin magazine's best 125 albums in 25 years

Spin just put out it's best 125 albums of the past 25 years.

I am really disappointed that Hole ranks higher than The Smashing Pumpkin's Siamese Dream. In what world could that be true?

Jesus and Mary Chain at 36 (I would rate much higher), Pixies Doolittle at 16 Hüsker Dü at 15 is impressive, The Smiths The Queen is Dead at 3 I can totally agree with, but Jane's Addiction at 94 when Wilco is at 81? Who are they kidding.

I'm not sure how they decided this list but it makes no sense to me, especially since the albums on the list are generally not the best work of the band selected.

Anyhow, check it out and see if there is anything you agree with or disagree with. Either way it is an interesting list and you may find something new from it.

http://www.spin.com/spin25/125-best-albums-past-25-years#page=1

"under my thumb"

A.E./D.C. sent me this little ditty by La Roux over the weekend. It comes from this summer's latest volume of Sidetracked, which La Roux mixed, and includes tracks by Fever Ray, Tears for Fears and others.

I sure appreciate such a thoughtful friend who hooks me up with a little synth-pop every now and then to help kick-start the week.

However, for haters of synth-pop I have included Social Distortion's version on the playlist.com sidebar.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Under My Thumb" - La Roux (cover)

Originally by The Rolling Stones

"a hazy shade of winter"

Thanksgiving week is always Simon and Garfunkel time for me.

It started years ago when Mr. IMo? decided to create the "Scarborough Fair" turkey. You know, "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme". While I bake for Thanksgiving, I like to pull out one of my oldest records (both in age and length of ownership) and let Paul and Art croon as I kneed dough.

I have a sort of funny relationship with Simon and Garfunkel. It started way back in seventh grade. I was out at the music store with a friend, with a few dollars in my hand, hard earned babysitting money probably. There were all sorts of trendy posters and albums to buy, but when I set my hands on Simon and Garfunkel, I decided that I wanted THEM, even though I had no idea what they sounded like. I didn't have enough money to buy the album right then, I ended up just buying an INXS single I had come in for, but I never forgot the name.

It took a few years to track down the duo (my parents having been hippies you would think it would have been easier) . What I remember most about that day is that finding that album was a defining moment. I was in search of something different. I felt different from my peers, nothing I knew at the time spoke to me the way it did to everyone else. It was their otherness from all the big glam rock hair and bad music on the radio at the time that appealed to me. It was the beginning of my separation from the mainstream and into the underground music scene. I was in search of something MORE. Even if it started with the sedate Simon and Garfunkel, with that desire for otherness, I shortly found new wave, punk, grunge, industrial; all sorts of tasty trax. So, in a way this entire blog and all of my musical knowledge, aptitude and thirst for something new and different all come back to a Simon and Garfunkel album I didn't buy.

SONG OF THE DAY: "Hazy Shade of Winter" - Simon and Garfunkel

hot chocolate boy

Today's song is for my friend A.W. It's his birthday and this song by Beat Happening always reminds me of him for some reason.

It also happen to be very fitting for the nippy weather we are having.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Hot Chocolate Boy" - Beat Happening

what do you want for Christmas?

As I did with Halloween I am willing to take your wishes into consideration.

I have again, well over 100 Christmas/Winter songs I could share. As you can tell by the photo I have always been very good at making lists.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the Halloween playlist, so I give you the following options:

1. 1 Christmas song each day from 1-25 December

2. 2 Christmas songs each day from 1-25 December

3. 3 songs each day, but only from 13-25 December for the 12 days of Christmas, and maybe a few St. Nicholas day songs or non-english Holiday tunes on some of the other days.

Write me your Christmas wish in the comments section by Dec. 1st.

*j

a rare thing

Mr. IMo? is actually home today so I had the rare delight of sleeping until it was too bright in my room. So, I am up late, just ate brunch and after packing away the remnants of Thanksgiving, I am finally up and moving. But, I could have slept forever.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Sleep Forever" - The Crocodiles

(I love how much The Crocodiles sound like The Jesus and Mary Chain)

Happy Thanksgiving

For your Thanksgiving listening pleasure here is one of my very favorite songs, and the best "thank you song ever.

Duran Duran's cover of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You", from Duran Durans's album of the same name.

Here's wishing you a happy holiday, and "thank you" for visiting. Also feel free to check out my Thanksgiving Playlist below.

Now, I am off to play Thanksgiving domestic goddess for the day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

*j

SONG OF THE DAY: "Thank You" - Duran Duran

ten songs of thanks: a thanksgiving playlist

No these are not spiritual or religious, and only a few are even slightly political, but rather a compilation of "Thank You" songs that cover a very broad musical spectrum. I am saving my favorite for Thanksgiving Day.


So gobble, gobble, travel safely, and what-not. We are staying home and keeping up our tradition of having Thanksgiving with neighbors who are practically strangers, the way Thanksgiving was meant to be celebrated. And I absolutely will not buy a single "Black Friday" sale item.



TEN SONGS OF THANKS: a thanksgiving playlist

1: "Say My Thanks" - 7 Seconds

(as close to Punk gratitude as you're gonna get. you may need to scroll down, it's song #6)


2: "Thanks For the Night" - The Damned

(not my favorite tune by The Damned but it suits)

3: "I Thank You" - ZZ Top

(the bearded dudes won't grace this blog often, but this is a fairly groovy tune)


4: "Thanksgiving" - Poi Dog Pondering

(reminds me of my car dying 40 miles from nowhere-ville, and hitching a ride)


5: "Thanks for Not Showing Up" - The Cute Leppers

(currently love the cute leppers)


6: "Thank You" - The Pipettes

(these girls are so cute, scroll to song # 3)


7: "Thank You for the Music" - ABBA

(a very spot on reason to be thankful)



8: "Thank You For Hearing Me" - Sinéad O' Conner

(thank you for reading my blog)



9: "Thanks for the Memory" - Sarah Vaughan

(LOVE Sarah)


10: "I Want to Thank You" - Otis Redding

(pull this one out for the parents/ grandparents as a conversation starter/changer that has nothing to do with you, your flaws, or the fact that you dropped out of school/lost your job/why you are too fat/ too thin, are still not married or have a kid, etc. you know what I mean. scroll to song # 8)

Schweizerdeutsch

Plankton is one of many bands of the same name, but this particular band
hails from the beautiful CH, Confoederatio Helvetica or to English speakers Switzerland.


If you speak any German at all you still may be thrown off by the "Schweizerdeutsch" dialect of their home canton of Zurich. It threw me for the first while until I realized they were Swiss, then I pretty much gave up trying to follow the accent. It's cute but trying to translate into German then again into Schweizerdeutsch is a bit much for me, so I just quit translating and simply listen to the music instead.


SONG OF THE DAY: "Happy End" - Plankton


for Football/Soccer fans "Die wo nid chönd Tschutte" is a good tune too.

Vaiko Eplik

It seems I feel intent on touring Northern Europe for music this past week. It must be the change in weather that is causing me to seek out tunes from colder climates.

Vaiko Eplik is an Estonian independent artist, and "multi-instrumentalist". Eliit is his solo project, and today's track comes from his album Vaiko Eplik ja Eliit 2 . I don't know much more about him than that, but I like him because he reminds me of Matthew Sweet.

SONG OF THE DAY: "November"-Vaiko Eplik ja Eliit

(you may have to scroll down to song # 9 to play)

my roots are showing

My Nordic roots seem to be tugging at me this week. Today I am in the mood for a bit of Norwegian techno.

Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland make up the duo Röyksopp, an electronica band from Tromsø, Norway. The pair often collaborates with other Scandinavian artists, such as Lykke-Li, Erlend Øye, and Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife and Fever Ray. (Karin is going to have track on the upcoming Red Ridding Hood movie.)

Today's song was co-written by fellow Norwegian Kate Havnevik who also does the guest vocals.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Only This Moment" (chab remix) - Röyksopp

"this song is not for you"

Maja Ivarsson could be my sister. Not literally, but watching her is somewhat unnerving, because she looks like a hybrid of myself and my youngest sister. Especially, the face she pulls at the end of the video for today's song; *L loves to snarl.

Swedish rockers, The Sounds, unapologetically borrow heavily from new wave rockers, Blondie but have a sound of their own. I am a sucker for bands whose accents you can hear through their singing, and Maja's is charming. Late last year Foxy Shazam and The Sounds toured together. I didn't know about either band at the time, but the band is currently working on a new album to be release in March 2011, so hopefully they will tour again soon.

SONG OF THE DAY: "Song With A Mission" - The Sounds

"i can fit two people under my skin"

I found Jukebox the Ghost on Pandora radio a few months ago, and this song is such a catchy earworm. Little pieces race past my mind like a flashing meteor, and I find myself needing to listen to the whole song again over and over. Its a good thing I don't have this on vinyl because I would be stuck sitting on the floor lifting the needle every 3 minutes and 19 seconds to go back to the beginning.


Listen to the song 3 times in a row. The first two times listen to the lyrics and the 3rd time focus on the piano.


SONG OF THE DAY: "Under my Skin" - Jukebox the Ghost

sin fang bous

Last night's Dresden Dolls show was pretty incredible. I have a new favorite drummer, and not just because Brian Viglione is hot. I have seen a lot of drummers in my day, but he was simply amazing, and plays like no one else I've ever seen.

However, because I was out until the early morning and back up before the sun, I am in the mood for something a little more docile today until I can take a nap.

Sin Fang Bous is the experimental side project of Icelandic musician Sindri Már Sigfússon, founder of the folksier (also Icelandic) band Seabear.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Clangour and Flutes" - Sin Fang Bous

the jeep song

Tonight I get to go see The Dresden Dolls, and I like this quirky little track.

We are Jeep lovers. Our last jeep died this year, a 1988 Jeep Wagoneer. Mr. IMo? got rather misty eyed when it was finally towed away, and is still on the lookout for it's perfect replacement. I miss that sexy beast.

In truth, I don't know all that much about the Dresden Dolls; I only listen to them once in a great while, but maybe after I seem them live that may change. Keep your eyes out for an upcoming review.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"The Jeep Song" - The Dresden Dolls

"Oh, I like your poetry, but I hate your poems"

I have been humming again.

This time it is an old tune by the late 1980s Scottish band The Trash Can Sinatras. Their 1990 track "Obscurity Knocks" has always stuck with me. I am not up on my Scottish music scene, but here is a quick band list of great stuff that has come out of Scotland: The Trash Can Sinatras, Aztec Camera, Orange Juice,Glasvegas, Franz Ferdinand, Travis, The Soup Dragons, Jesus and Mary Chain, KT Tunstall, The Fratellis.

I have found a great blog on Scottish bands called 17 Seconds that can help you get more acquainted with what's new in Scottish music. As the above list shows, there is some fine stuff to be had beyond Hadrian's Wall.

SONG OF THE DAY: "Obscurity Knocks" - The Trash Can Sinatras

David Dorůžka - a bit of Czech jazz

I discovered David Dorůžka last year. He hails from the beautiful city of Prague, in the Czech Republic. Prague is not only beautiful architecturally, but also has been the home for many fantastic artists, authors and musician, such as Alfons Mucha, Franz Kafka, Ranier Maria Rilke, and Antonín Leopold Dvořák.

What I enjoy most about this track is how depressing it is to listen to, which in my opinion is a perfect reflection of the month of November. Here is David Dorůžka's quartet playing "November" from his 2009 album Silently Dawning with vocals by Josefine Lindstrand.

SONG OF THE DAY: " November" - David Dorůžka Quartet featuring the lovely Josephine Lindstrand

a weekend of ska

I've got a crazy busy day ahead of me but I wanted to throw out a bit of a glimpse of what my weekend has in store. I also thought I'd throw in yet another nod to Duran Duran just to make the week feel thematic.

And I always love a bit of ska to kick off a Saturday morning.

SONGS OF THE DAY:

"Hungry Like The Wolf" - Reel Big Fish (cover of Duran Duran)

"Super Rad" - The Aquabats

speaking of simon le bon

So that bit about Duran Duran got me to thinking, and in the dark far back corner in my mind where I still speak French well, a little light sparked and I remembered this great little tune where Simon Le Bon sings backup vocals for The Dandy Warhols .

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Plan A" - The Dandy Warhols

"I got soul, but I'm not a soldier"

I may have mentioned it before but I am deeply lacking in the patriotic conviction department.

Patriotism is just one thing I seem to be lacking, like a genetic defect or something. I just can't find it anywhere within myself. Were I an ancient Greek hero, it would be my fatal flaw.

Today being Veteran's Day/ Armistice Day everyone is home for the holiday, and my Katydid has spent the past week being indoctrinated at school on the glories of venerating Veterans Day, and is expecting me to do something about it . The idea of going to some formal memorial service with flags waving and old men in fezs makes me cringe, but for the sake of all those who died, I'd feel like a heel if we didn't do something. So, since I am not completely a cold-hearted individual, I think we are going to read through an interview with Grandpa Great before he died when he told stories of his days as a B25 fighter pilot in WWII, and all the many amazing things that he had done in his life. I may not be very patriotic, but he was a great man. After his first treacherous flight across the Pacific and surviving his first fire fight, he realized that every day thereafter was just a bonus, and in all the time I knew him he made the most of what time and resources he had. I may not be patriotic, but that's a pretty good life lesson to pass on.

SONGS OF THE DAY:

"All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers

(for a little introspection)

AND "Soldier Blue" - The Cult
(just so things don't get to mushy)

hungry

So, last night Mr. IMo? and I went out for a bit of what we like to call "mandatory fun".

I can't really explain coherently how his office is set up, because honestly I still don't see how all the parts relate. Anyhow they are having an inspection of a bunch of different offices this week, and the main guy doing the inspection is the second in charge, but think more 3 star General scary than Vice-President; this guy has power to bring down fire and brimstone on the whole organization if he so deems appropriate. So, he's totally the guy you want to go hang out with after work hours for dinner and drinks, right? You see the irony.

Anyhow, that was the premise for "fun" last night. I think there seems to be cruel joke running however, that when these upper management types come out the food gets progressively worse the higher ranking the visitor. It's like, well we have to show up anyhow so let's see what we can get by with. It's an abomination what we paid for a few thin slices of chicken, some alfredo pasta and over-boiled mixed veggies. I mean, that's our "starving student" staple. It was pathetic.

So, this morning I am feeling the side effects, since I skipped lunch yesterday expecting the decent meal I paid for. I am ravishingly hungry, like a wolf.

....

Ah, Duran Duran. I am young enough that I didn't have to a declare a "favorite" member of Duran Duran, with their poster on my bedroom wall( but if you really want to know it's the bassist John Taylor-dark hair, farthest right). I have seen "Barbarella" and know where the band got its name. I also know that Stephen Duffy made a huge strategic error in leaving the band so hastily, (although without his break away we wouldn't have his 1985 masterpiece "Kiss Me"). I also like their side projects, Arcadia in particular.

So here is today's song, from Duran Duran's second album, Rio, and the video that put Duran Duran on the US charts in 1982 thanks to heavy MTV play.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Hungry Like The Wolf" - Duran Duran

As a special treat I am going to give you a second video link to a more modern performance just to show that these guys can still pull it off, and leave you tingling from their greatness. HERE

pretty little liar

Oh man, it's that time already.

This morning my little Katydid tried to pull a fast one on me.

She has a pair of high heeled dress shoes (that I didn't buy for her) that have a number of restrictions on when she can wear them, which basically comes down to me being in a very generous mood and they match what I have picked out for her to wear for the day.

Katydid is no where near old enough in my opinion to be wearing heels of any sort, so every time a pair of these shoes comes in the mail it is a battle.

Today she took it to a whole new level and tried to stash them in her backpack to wear at school.

And I found them.

For a very honest little girl this was a surprising move, so I had to pull out the big guns. The shoes were thrown in the trash and we had a bit of a lecture wherein I created a very slippery slope of lying about shoes to being a homeless teenage runaway junkie. Possibly a bit over the top but it was Red Ribbon Week at school two weeks ago and the idea that drugs are bad is fresh in her little mind. And she has seen me stop to give food to enough filthy, haggle-toothed, homeless meth addicts and drunks over the years to understand what that's all about.

Even while I was spinning this wild scene of moral decay for my wide-eyed girl, I could hear Henry Rollins anguished voice screaming "'cause I'm a liar!".

Poor thing. I think I scared her. But hopefully she won't again attempt to be a big fat liar.

And I must say, you really have to watch the video because Henry Rollins makes a very buff Clark Kent/ Superman with his devilish smile. AND I like his Einstürzende Neubauten tattoo. (EN is currently touring the US)

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Liar" - Rollins Band